Immigration reform

Unlike many dictatorships that operate on personal whim, the United States is a nation of laws. And the Constitution requires that decisions involving personal liberty may only be undertaken with great care -- with "due process of law." It is a principle that was meant to apply equally to citizens and non-citizens alike.

Unfortunately, Congress undermined those basic principals in 1996 by enacting severe anti-immigrant legislation. While the 1996 laws were supposed to guard against terrorism and illegal immigration, some of the harshest provisions had nothing to do with terrorism and were instead directed at long-term lawful residents.

Some progress has been made to correct these laws through the courts. In June 2001, the Supreme Court affirmed the fundamental rights of immigrants to judicial review of INS decisions, to not have laws applied retroactively in certain cases, and to not be detained indefinitely.

Still, much remains to be done. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL), have introduced S. 955, the "Immigration Fairness Restoration Act of 2001," a bill that seeks to roll back the remaining inequities of the 1996 laws.

SOURCE: ACLU

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An index of our reports from

BECOMING NEIGHBORS:
An Invitation
to Global Discipleship

A Witherspoon conference
on global mission and justice

September 16 - 19, 2007
Louisville, Kentucky

Check out our report from the Conference
on
Terror, Torture,
and Security